Obsidian is glass, and I think that is what makes it such a satisfying stone to hold.

It is not a mineral in the way the rest of my stones are. It is what happens when lava cools so fast that there is no time for crystals to form. The molten rock sets as glass instead, and glass is what it stays. Every other crystal I sell spent thousands or millions of years building an internal structure. Obsidian skipped that step entirely, which is why it is smooth and glossy and pitch black rather than grainy.

Because it is glass, it breaks like glass. This is the part worth knowing. Obsidian fractures with a curved, shell-like break, and the edge it leaves behind can be sharper than a surgical blade. It has been used for cutting tools for that reason, and it still is. Some surgeons use obsidian scalpels today, because the edge is finer than steel can be made. That is the same reason you want to handle your piece carefully rather than knocking it about.

The black comes from iron and magnesium in the lava. It is not always black, either. Obsidian with tiny crystals of magnetite or hematite suspended in it gives you the golden or silvery sheen people call rainbow obsidian or gold sheen obsidian, and snowflake obsidian has grey-white patches of cristobalite growing inside the glass. All of it comes from the same process, just with different minerals along for the ride.

One name worth knowing. Apache tears are small rounded nodules of obsidian, formed when the lava hit water and chilled into pebble shapes rather than one big flow. They are traded as a separate thing and they are the same material. On hardness obsidian sits at around five to five and a half, softer than quartz, and that combined with the way it breaks is why it needs a bit more care than a piece of agate for example.

Traditionally associated with

Obsidian has been used by people for a very long time. It is one of the earliest materials worked into blades and tools. Even today you can buy Obsidian spear heads as ancient replicas. 

It travelled long distances in the ancient world as a traded material because a good volcanic source was worth knowing about. It is closely tied to Mexico and to Mesoamerican cultures in particular, where it was worked into mirrors and blades, and those mirrors were polished flat enough to give a true reflection. That is where the modern associations with reflection and honesty come from. It is also a traditional stone to use at Samhain, because of the black and because of its long history of use. That tradition is the reason I like carrying it.

How I look after it

Treat it as glass, because that is what it is. Wipe it with a soft, dry cloth. Keep it away from hard edges and from other stones, and store it on its own rather than in a bowl with agate or quartz, which will mark it.

The tealight holder needs the same care as any other. Stand it on a heatproof surface, well away from anything that could catch, and never leave a burning tealight unattended. Because it is glass, avoid sudden changes in temperature, so no cold water on a warm piece.

In my shop

The Crystal Tealight Holder is £30 and comes in two versions, Black Obsidian and Rose Quartz. Each is about 12cm across, carved from one piece with a polished bowl sunk into the centre for a standard tealight, and the outer edges left rough where the stone was cut. The obsidian is pitch black with the glass throwing the light back in soft highlights. The rose quartz runs from soft opaque pink through to paler sections, and the whole piece warms to a deeper pink once the tealight is lit.

Free UK shipping on orders over £50. Everything is sent from Luton, and collection is available if you are local.